Let me shelter you
by MadamPuddifootsTeashop
Summary: Set after 2x12. Basically a drabble about how Derek and Isaac came to share a loft. Warning; lots of bromancy/pack/father-son feels. No slash. {EDIT} Changed to 'In-Progress'. What can be expected? Probably some Derek/Isaac snippets of what happened between season 2 and 3, aka during summer break.
1. Chapter 1

**{ Let me shelter you }**

Isaac traced his fingers over the symbol painted on the front door of the abandoned Hale house. An Alpha pack was the last thing he'd expected to cross their paths.

'Well, I'm out. I guess you and your last Beta have plenty to discuss,' Isaac heard Peter say to Derek, but he didn't bother to look back. The snide remark about the other Beta's having left, was completely unnecessary and it didn't make Isaac like Peter Hale any more than he did before. In all actuality, the guy gave Isaac the creeps.

'Yeah, well, thanks for your input, Peter. Always helpful,' Derek replied, failing miserably to hide the pain – or was it embarrassment? – in his voice. Showing any emotion, other than the casual sarcasm or anger, was unusual for Derek when he was in the presence of anyone, really. Isaac decided to blame the fatigue, as they both had had so little sleep the past few nights.

Isaac turned around again, facing his Alpha. By now, Peter had completely disappeared.

'An Alpha pack, Derek?' Isaac asked, putting his hands in his pockets. He wanted to hear it from his Alpha's mouth. The only response he got, however, was Derek rubbing his face tiredly, ending in pinching his nose. Isaac tried not to think about how used he felt. Derek only decided to change his Beta's because he needed them, yet he never bothered to tell them that. And all the while, Isaac believed Derek had _wanted_ them with him, that he'd _wanted_ to help them. This revelation just felt like a slap in the face.

'What's… Why is –' Isaac struggled to find the words, swallowing. 'Derek, how does that even work?' He tried to hide the fear he felt within himself. An Alpha pack just sounded scary beyond relief. All he wanted was a little confirmation that things weren't that bad. Derek finally looked up.

'I think we both could use some sleep first,' he calmly said.

Isaac thought of the abandoned warehouse they were staying at. Ever since Erica and Boyd had left, he started hating that place. Don't get him wrong, he would be forever grateful that Derek didn't make him stay out in the street, since he has nowhere else to go. And while it wasn't the most cozy place to stay at, he'd never gotten closer to something he could call a 'home' ever before. Or better, since his brother died. But with Boyd and Erica gone, the place was cramped with memories he'd rather not remember. And while they'd rarely stayed the night, they both spent probably seventy-five percent of their time at the warehouse, either training, studying or blabbering the evening away. Them leaving had been another slap to his face, as well as that of Derek.

_Now what did you think, Isaac? As if anyone would want to stay with _you. _They didn't even bother to ask you to come with them, now did they?_

The voice of his father haunted his mind to this day, even when he was no longer among the living. He shook his head, ignoring the tear prickling in the corner of his eye.

_And don't expect Derek to stay with you either, boy. Sooner or later he's going to leave you too. _

'You doing okay, Isaac?' Drowning in his haunting thoughts, Isaac didn't even notice Derek coming closer. He rubbed his eyes with his hands, a tear or two finally escaping.

_You were made to be alone, son. To be _left _alone!_

Derek reached out and put a comforting hand on his arm. And with that simple touch, the train of thoughts was silenced to nothing. He removed his hands from his face, hoping the tears hadn't stained his cheeks.

'Are you okay?' Derek repeated his question from mere moments ago.

'Yeah, Derek, I'm just…' He sighed, fatigue plaguing his mind and body. He looked away. 'I'm just tired.'

'Come on, I have to show you something.' A small smile crept on the corner of Derek's lips and Isaac wondered what had suddenly gotten him so excited. He made his way to leave and after taking another short look at the symbol, Isaac followed right behind.

{-x-}

Driving to wherever Derek wanted to bring them, took him a while. So in the meantime, Isaac had made himself comfortable in the front seat – which had always been occupied by Erica, before she left. The comfortable seat and the fact that it was darkening very soon, didn't make it difficult on him to fall asleep, which happened in mere moments.

Stopping before a red light, Derek took a look at his younger Beta, soundly asleep. He had no doubt Isaac would appreciate the little surprise he was about to reveal to him. Heck, the boy would still be grateful if you let him sleep on the floor, as long as he was allowed to stay with you. Derek had experienced that himself, as Isaac hadn't failed to thank him every single night he got to stay with Derek, until Derek plain out told him the gratitude was unnecessary.

As the light turned green again, he turned left and drove a few blocks further, until he reached his destination. He gently shook Isaac awake, telling him they had arrived. Drowsily, he got out of the car and looked up with a confused look on his face.

'Where are we?' Isaac noticed a pleasant neighborhood, with a few apartments and small houses scattered around. Not much, but cozy none the less. As Derek locked his car, he took out some other keys and opened a front door that led to an apartment. It started to dawn on Isaac what was going on, but he was afraid to get his hopes up, only to get them crushed again. Derek turned around, waiting in the doorway.

'I'll show you in a minute, but I'll need you to come with me,' he told Isaac, a faint smile still on his face. The excitement within Isaac grew with the seconds, but the tried to tone it down. Just to avoid disappointment if it didn't turn out like he would expect. Slowly but surely, he followed Derek up the stairs until they reached the highest floor. Opening another door, Derek went in and revealed a huge yet almost empty loft. The wall opposite of them was one big window, letting in the moonlight that illuminated the place. Other than a kitchen, a desk right in front of the huge window, a couch and one double bed, the room was vacant.

'What's this?' Isaac asked incredulously, taking in every little detail he could, before it'd be ripped away from him again. After all, he could be dreaming or Derek could be pulling one big lie on him. Because, you see, Isaac just wasn't meant to get nice things.

'I uh… I hired a loft for the both of us,' Derek finally replied, probably thinking it would've been clear without saying it out loud. He cleared his throat, a more or less awkward silence falling on the both of them. Isaac finally looked at him, still a little wary of the thought that this was all really happening.

'Why? The warehouse was more than okay for me.'

'No, it wasn't. Not for you, not for Erica, not for Boyd. I should've realized that sooner. That realization only hit me, however, when I decided to take care of a few other things,' he said as he took out some folded papers from the back pocket of his jeans. Derek couldn't help but notice the amount of little jumps Isaac's heart has made up to now. Folding open the papers, he handed them over to Isaac, who was still standing in the doorway of the loft. The trembling of Isaac's hands didn't go unnoticed either.

Isaac tried to focus on what was written on the papers, but the letters were so small and his nerves were wrecking him. Luckily, Derek was willing to actually talk to him tonight.

'I took care of some things this morning, together with Sherriff Stilinski,' he started explaining. The only words that Isaac seemed to catch from the papers as he quickly scanned them, were 'guardian', 'custody' and 'Derek Hale'. Now Isaac was sure of it; he was dreaming. That, or he'd been poisoned by wolf's bane and has started hallucinating.

'I'm sorry I haven't asked you this first, but as you've noticed, talking isn't really my thing,' Derek looked to the ground, snorting and raising his eyebrows incredulously. 'Who am I kidding, I barely talk at all. I just hope you don't mind?' He looked up. Derek was on complete new grounds and it made him feel uneasy. Insecure, even. The whole situation simply looked so surreal to Isaac. After a few moments of taking it all in, Isaac finally spoke up.

'I can't believe you actually want me,' he whispered, furrows appearing on his forehead. The look on Derek immediately softened. Of course, this boy's worries wouldn't concern Derek claiming custody over Isaac behind the latter's back, without even having discussed the matter. No, this boy was concerned about not being wanted. And Derek couldn't help but notice how deep Isaac's issues of distrust and desperation actually ran.

'Of course I want you, Isaac. You're my pack, and now I'm your guardian. I'm not just going to look out for you when it concerns supernatural matters. Now, I'm going to make sure you get good grades and finish high school, I'll try to minimize the trouble you'll probably get in as much as possible,' Derek chuckled, making a little smile appear on Isaac's face. The mere thought of this possible future made Isaac feel delighted. 'I'll be the one to go to parent's conferences and I'll make sure that when you're drunk at some party, having the time of your teenage life, I'll get you home safely. And to be honest, this is all very new for me,' he laughed again. 'But I'm going to try better now, Isaac.'

Isaac had never heard this many words streaming out of his Alpha's mouth, yet he didn't seem finished just yet.

'And I know today made it seem like you're just a tool to me. That I've just created you, and Erica and Boyd too, because I needed you. But you're not, none of you are,' by now, Derek was deadly serious. 'I'm not going to lie, the need for a pack has played a part in my desire to build one. But that wasn't the only reason. I hope you know that.' Isaac slowly nodded in response, still hardly believing anything that has happened in the past ten minutes.

'You can come in, Isaac,' Derek noticed how the young one was still awkwardly standing in the doorway, holding the papers of the custody arrangement in his hands. 'This place is now just as much yours as it is mine,' he smiled.

'And I know it's not much yet, but we'll get there,' Derek looked around the little place, actually feeling content with where he was in his life for once. Following Isaac with his eyes, he noticed the boy silently coming in and going to the window, in the meantime placing the papers on the desk. 'We're a work in progress, Isaac.' Derek came standing next to Isaac, looking out of the window as well. A big sigh escaped Isaac.

Derek knew things were going to change from now on. They were going to find the other Beta's and he was going to become a decent Alpha. And a more than decent guardian for Isaac. Looking at the boy, there seemed to lie so much uncertainty and even sadness in the younger one's eyes. For things to change, Derek would have to become more impulsive. So by what he did next, he knew it indicated a change for the both of them. He reached out his hand and ruffled the young one's hair. Isaac looked surprised at Derek, but the fact that he didn't even flinch at the contact anymore, showed Derek just how far they've come so far. It actually even made Isaac laugh, resulting in another smile appearing on Derek's face.

'What?' Derek asked, still smiling.

'I don't know,' Isaac continued laughing. 'I guess I still have to get used to you being…' And with that the laughter diminished and a little frown replaced the smiles. The word 'fatherly' crossed his mind, but he didn't want to push Derek's limits. They've already come so far and the fact that he had an entire future to get there, made him realize they still have time for that. 'Well, being like this,' he finished instead, smiling again.

'Well, I'm doing a shitty job so far. It's already half past twelve and you have school tomorrow, so go to bed,' Derek tried to pull a serious face. Another laugh escaped Isaac.

'Derek, it's summer break,' he couldn't help the laughs escaping him.

'Oh,' Derek frowned in return. Isaac caught his breath.

'But I'll go to sleep anyway, I'm tired as hell.'

'Yeah, about that. Would you mind sleeping on the couch for now?'

'Of course not, I'm used to a lot worse,' Isaac made his way to the couch, sitting down and taking of his shirt.

'Well, I swear it's only temporary. I'll get a second bed as soon as possible, but I'm a little short on money for the moment. But I _will _get you one.'

'I believe you, Derek. Don't worry about it,' he said while taking of his shoes.

'And I'll get our stuff from the warehouse first thing in the morning, okay?'

'Yeah, sure thing,' Isaac finally looked up again. 'Thank y- '

'No need to tha- '

'No, really, Derek. Thank you. You have no idea what this means to me.' He yawned tiredly and lay himself down on the couch, turning his back to Derek.

And with that, Derek stood alone in the moonlight, rubbing the back of his neck and taking in what this all meant. It felt strange, but somehow very right. This kid deserved so much better and he was going to try and give that to him. Looking at his bed, he took the covers and moved to where Isaac was already fast asleep. Gently, he put the covers on top of Isaac and tucked him in. Unconsciously, Isaac immediately gripped the covers and pulled him up to his face, as if hiding away from inevitable nightmares that will definitely come further into the night.

After a little squeeze of Isaac's shoulder, Derek too took off his shirt and shoes and lay down on his now cover-less bed. But he didn't mind. He sat up again and took one last look at his younger Beta. The sudden feeling of protectiveness over this boy overwhelmed him, but made him feel good at the same time. He lay down again and sighed. For the first time, he actually felt excited about tomorrow. It was unknown and that scared him. But he also didn't feel all that alone anymore and with these thoughts, he fell asleep, having a little more hope for both his and Isaac's future.


	2. Chapter 2

**{ Let me shelter you }**

**{ Chapter II }**

Just like all the other nights, Isaac's thoughts didn't fail to dwindle into horrendous nightmares in which his father's face haunted him. And just like all the other nights, the rapid beating of Isaac's heart and the silently suppressed whimpers woke Derek in the middle of the night. Sitting up, Derek took a look at the shaking body, completely buried underneath the covers. A sight he'd gotten pretty used to by now.

He sighed.

Normally, Derek would just ignore the muttering and resume with sleeping, but this new over-protectiveness that kicked in earlier this night, made him want to go over there and shake those demons away. After all, he was the one responsible now for the kid's well-being. The problem was that he didn't know if Isaac would even want to talk about his nightmares. Derek had to admit that, while having kept an eye out for Isaac before the bite and actually having seen what Isaac went through every single night, he still didn't know what exactly ran through that little head of his. This made it hard to predict how Isaac would react to Derek waking him up. Afraid to push all the wrong buttons and crushing the progress they've made so far, Derek decided to do what he always did. He tried to ignore the whimpers, which somehow was now harder to do, and resumed with sleeping.

{ -x- }

Isaac turned around in the couch while pushing away the covers, which let in the strong sunlight, waking him up with a groan. He wasn't used to such strong sun rays waking him up, as the warehouse was deprived from any windows. Slightly opening his eyes and adjusting to the light, he tried to think of where he was. In little snippets, the event of yesterday evening filtered through his brain and he remembered he was at Derek's loft. Or rather, _their _loft.

He completely pushed the covers away, wondering how he'd gotten them in the first place, as he couldn't remember falling asleep under any blankets, and sat up. Looking around, he noticed the double bed was empty and cover-less. He looked at the blankets and could hardly imagine Derek giving him those. It warmed his heart just slightly. Looking at the kitchen, there was no Derek to be found. His heart made a jump.

_Told you he'd leave, son!_

'No,' Isaac rubbed his temples, still slightly tired of the mostly sleepless night. Standing up, he went to a door behind which he assumed was the bathroom, but he couldn't hear any sound. His heart started accelerating just slightly, a panic rising in his chest. He went to the window, but in the process of doing so, he noticed the papers of the custody arrangement still lying on the desk.

'_And I'll get our stuff from the warehouse first thing in the morning, okay?'_

'_Yeah, sure thing.'_

And with that little memory of last night, Isaac's speeding heart diminished to a normal rate again. The realization hit Isaac that he'd probably just left to get their stuff. He let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. Tracing his fingers through his hair and ruffling it, he laughed at himself for even having let the thought that Derek might've left, in. _Ridiculous!_ And with that, he opened the door to the bathroom and took a look. It was small, but clean. Opening a few shelves, everything seemed empty. Not having any shampoo, he decided to quickly jump under the shower, just to freshen up a little.

After having taken a look around in the small kitchen, he concluded that Derek has done zero shopping before moving in here. Maybe he just didn't think of it, as it's never really been necessary. Before, Derek just always made sure Isaac had some money to buy his food at school. Now, however, there was no school anymore, so no breakfast either. He checked his wallet and found some money left from last week. Quickly taking the keys Derek had left on the desk, he made his way outside, hoping Derek wouldn't return yet in the meantime.

Coming outside, he immediately noticed the small grocery store surrounded by flowers. Making a sprint, he quickly went inside and took a look around, only to find a girl his age behind the counter.

'Good morning and welcome to – ' Just as she looked up, the words silently died out and she failed to finish her sentence properly. She looked away.

_Is that a blush? _Isaac wondered.

She cleared her throat and finished her sentence. 'Welcome to McKenzies. How can I help you?' This time, she seemed to have regained some confidence, as she was smiling by now.

Isaac wasn't going to lie, the girl was pretty and having flustered her sure gave his confidence a boost. Giving her his cheekiest smile, he assured her that he didn't need much and he'd be able to find it himself.

He quickly grabbed the few ingredients to make himself and Derek some pancakes and made his way to the counter. While putting all of the stuff down, he made sure to steal a quick glance. Her hair was messy, as if she'd just gotten out of bed. Given the fact that it was only eight in the morning, that could be very true. Other than that, it was a little wavy, dark brown, reached her back and was clipped away with a blue bow. She turned around again, a faint blush still on her cheeks.

'That'll be it?' she asked, taking the ingredients and scanning the price.

'Yeah,' Isaac found himself at a loss for words. As much as he had flustered her, she sure had the same effect on him.

'So, I haven't seen you here before. You're not from around here?' she asked, looking up from the ingredients she was still scanning. Besides the lovely hair, she had some pretty green eyes too.

'Um, no. Actually yes, we uh…' Isaac cursed himself for his poor skills when it came to girls. He took a breath.

'We moved here. Yesterday, actually,' he smiled again.

'Oh, so you're the one that has moved in the loft that has been up for rent?'

'To be exact, it was my guardian that moved in,' he subconsciously held his breath before uttering the word 'guardian'. _Still not used to that,_ he thought. 'So I obviously moved in with him.'

'Oh, that's nice.' Yet Isaac couldn't help but notice the way she looked when he mentioned he lived with a guardian. As if she was disappointed? She probably thought he was another troubled kid that lost his parents. The grin on Isaac's face faltered, not believing he'd still have a chance with this girl.

'That'll be eleven dollars and twenty cents, please,' she said. Isaac quickly gave her the money, took his things and rushed his way out. He just wanted to leave this embarrassing moment behind.

'Um, excuse me?' Sighing, he reluctantly turned around. 'You forgot this.'

She was holding up a brick of milk. _Damnit, Isaac! _He reluctantly returned to the counter and took the milk, accidentally brushing her fingers. And there it was, that small exchange of electricity, causing her to jerk her fingers away. _So she felt it too? _She bit her lower lip.

'Can I uh…' she laughed hesitantly. 'Can I know your name?'

'It's Isaac.'

'It's nice to meet you, Isaac. I'm Emma.'

'Nice to meet you too,' he nodded and gave a last small smile before leaving the small store.

_I swear, girls. I'll never get them. _Isaac shook his head incredulously and made his way up to the loft again, happy to find that Derek hadn't returned yet, only to be waiting in front of a locked door.

Taking out a few pots and pans, he started mixing the ingredients together.

{ -x- }

Very suddenly the door was kicked open and it made Isaac jump. He was just finishing his last pancakes and was putting them on two plates. And there he stood, Derek. Two big bags in his one hand, slung over his shoulder, and two Starbucks Frappuccino's and a brown, paper bag in his other. He threw the bags to the side and closed the door. Isaac couldn't help but think how sad it was that all his belongings, as well as Derek's, fitted into one bag.

'What are you doing, Isaac?' He came up to the kitchen island and took place on one of the old bar stools, placing the Frappuccino's and the bag on the island. Just as he did that, Isaac made sure to pour some syrup on the pancakes and pushed a plate towards Derek. Isaac himself took place on the bar stool opposite of Derek.

'I made us breakfast. I just didn't think you'd bring breakfast too,' Isaac looked sheepishly at the Frappuccino's and the paper bag, which surely contained something tasty.

'I'm sorry,' he looked away, frowning.

'No, don't be. I'm just surprised you can cook,' Derek laughed, taking a bite of his pancakes. 'And you can't just cook, you cook very well, Isaac. This is delicious.' Isaac smiled, finally eating his pancakes too.

'Guess we'll have to keep these muffins for later,' Derek said, looking at the bag with a knowing look.

'Muffins?' Isaac's head perked up. 'You bought muffins?' The look on his face was priceless.

'Yep, two big Bountiful Blueberry Muffins,' Derek sighed, knowing he was teasing the crap out of Isaac.

Isaac grabbed the bag, not even having finished his pancakes, and took a look inside. He closed it again. 'Oh no, you didn't.'

He looked at Derek and bit his lower lip. 'These are my favorites, how'd you know?' Derek laughed, but decided to stop the teasing.

'Erica told me once. She said it might come in handy if I wanted to bribe something out of you. Said she'd done it countless times and the trick had never failed her.' A sad smile appeared on both of their faces, feeling just slightly nostalgic for their fellow Beta's presence.

'Can't believe she told you that,' Isaac told him quizzically. 'She was the only one who knew.'

'Well I'm glad she told me. Now I know she spoke the truth and I can indeed use it against you,' Derek laughed again.

'Oh, really?' Isaac cocked his head, arching his brow, failing to hide a smirk coming up.

'No, just kidding,' Derek's laughter died down. 'I'm glad she told me, because now I can make sure you get your weekly doses of blueberry muffins.' Derek continued eating his pancakes, as did Isaac. His were, however, finished in two more bites. He immediately grabbed the brown bag again and looked at Derek. 'Do you mind if I eat mine?'

'No, of course not,' Derek grinned, happy he'd found a way to put a smile on Isaac's face after what sure was an awful night again. Isaac took it out and relished every single bite.

It was silent for a moment, which gave Isaac the perfect opportunity to ask Derek something he'd been thinking about for a few weeks now.

'Derek, would you mind if I kept an eye out for a job?' Derek looked up.

'You're not quitting school, are you?' he seemed genuinely worried about the idea. Again, it warmed Isaac's chest.

'No,' he laughed, the sight of a worried Derek, holding his fork mid-air, just about to eat a pancake, was hilarious. 'No, no, not at all. I just, before we moved here and you became my… My guardian,' _Seriously, still not used to that. _'I was already looking out for a job, just to save some money so I could live on my own someday.'

Derek frowned in an instant. 'You didn't want to live with me?' Derek suddenly began to fear he'd made a huge mistake with taking custody over Isaac.

'No,' Isaac started fiddling with the straw poking out of his Frappuccino. 'No, I liked living with you. I just always had the feeling I was a burden to you.' Derek was still frowning, yet Isaac didn't dare to look him in the eye.

'But now I know that's not exactly the case,' Isaac threw a confusing look at the custody papers on the desk, still unable to grasp how it was possible Derek genuinely wanted him.

'Then why do you still need a job?'

'I just thought I might be able to help you, since you said you were short on – '

'No,' Derek told him sternly. 'I'm the guardian, I'm the one supporting you. Not the other way around.'

'Yeah, I know, but I could help,' Isaac tried to convince Derek, but felt quite intimidated by the stern look he gave.

'No, Isaac. I won't refrain you from getting a job. If you want that, sure do so. But you're keeping that money for yourself,' Derek assured him.

But Derek – '

'No, Isaac,' Derek tried finishing his pancakes.

'Bu – '

'No!' Derek sighed, dropping his fork in his plate and looking incredulously at Isaac. _How can he not get it? _Isaac shut up immediately and frowned. _Great, now I feel like shit. Damnit, should I apologize?_

But before Derek could utter the words 'I'm sorry', Isaac already spoke up.

'I just don't want you to think I'm taking advantage of you,' Isaac whispered, looking down on his Frappuccino, as if it held all his answers.

Derek sighed deeply, hiding his face in his right hand and rubbing the sides of his face. He peeked through his fingers and saw the younger one humped before him, a serious frown adorning his face, still searching his Frappuccino for whatever it was he was looking for.

'Look, Isaac,' Derek told the boy, yet he refused to look up from his drink.

'Isaac, can you look at me for a moment?' Derek took his hands down and folded them in front of him. Isaac looked up grudgingly and Derek could've sworn he was inches away from looking like a puppy.

'I don't think that, okay?' Derek looked him in the eye, making sure he'd grasp it this time. Derek knew that all of these insecurities all came from one single point; his father's abuse. So maybe he should just hit the nail on the head, just to get through to that stubborn mind.

'I'm not your father.'

Isaac looked away and Derek wondered if his mind was playing tricks on him, because he could've sworn he saw Isaac's eyes glistening, if only for a moment. Maybe he'd hit the nail just slightly too hard.

'You know that, right?' Derek wanted to make sure this conversation ended with both of them on good grounds. It's only been the first day that he got to try and be Isaac's guardian and he didn't want to have Isaac thinking this wasn't going to work out. Because it will work out. Eventually.

Isaac nodded, took a breath and looked Derek in the eye. 'I know.'

Derek sighed, not quite satisfied with the answer because he could feel the tension that still surrounded both of them. Finishing his pancakes, the air was filled with awkward silence. Derek knew this road was going to get rocky and he had to remind himself why he even thought of taking custody over this boy again in the first place. Not that he regretted it, it had just all seemed easier before this responsibility was dropped on his shoulders. _Easier, but lonelier too, Derek. _And there it was. His fear of ending up alone, plus the fact that this boy clearly needed some sort of home. _Those were the reasons you stood on Mr. Stilinski's doorstep yesterday morning. Remind yourself of that._

Derek cleared his throat, pushing any doubts off of his mind. 'So, any idea where you'd like to work for the summer?' Derek tried to start a light-hearted conversation, to outweigh the heavy words from earlier, if only for a little bit. Isaac merely looked up surprised.

'So you'd let me get a job?' he asked suspiciously.

'Sure, but on one condition,' Derek gave him a small smile. 'You're going to use that money for you. For example, when you meet on hell of an amazing girl and you take her out for your first date. I'm not going to buy the flowers for her and you make sure you get that girl some flowers, you hear me?' By now, Isaac had to try his best to hide the smirk bubbling up. Derek should've known he had a certain brunette on his mind, from earlier this morning.

'What makes you think I wouldn't get her flowers?' he laughed by now.

'I don't know,' Derek laughed along, the tension completely seeping away with the seconds. 'If I take a look at the youth of today, I have serious doubts about their proper manners.' Isaac couldn't hide the wide grin smeared all over his face anymore.

'You don't seem like the polite type of guy yourself,' he laughed.

'I don't?' Derek pretended to sound insulted, but failed to refrain himself from laughing.

'You don't,' Isaac snickered, the laughter silently dying out. Isaac's cheeks and ribs hurt from laughing so much and he couldn't remember when that had happened for the last time. If it had ever happened before, he wasn't so sure anymore. Derek made a move to leave the kitchen.

'Well, keep me updated on finding a job, okay?' he made his way over to the desk and took out a map that was lying in one of the shelves. He knew Derek was going to go over all the places where Boyd and Erica could possibly be, because it was the map that had a few crosses here and there. All the places Derek had already checked. Finishing his Frappuccino and putting the other one, together with the muffin, away, he made his way over to Derek and hunched over the map.

'So, what's the next place we're going to check out?' Isaac asked, tracing the map with his eyes.

Derek pointed at an area on the outskirts of town.

'The factory that's been closed down years ago.'

* * *

**A/N:** So I've decided to continue this little story, because the amount of positive feedback, both on Tumblr and , was overwhelming! You can't imagine how happy it makes me, knowing that you guys enjoy reading this. I hope you're not disappointed with the second chapter and while this seems like a continuation to the previous chapter, I don't think I'll write such a consistent story in the future anymore. It'll be just little snippets of the life of Derek and Isaac, about things completely irrelevant to the plot. You'll see in the future, what I mean by that. ;)

Other than that, I hope I don't get hate for including Emma? She's an OC, I seriously doubted about whether to include her or not and I hope you don't mind I did. I just felt like it happens to everyone in real life. You go to the store, you see a hottie behind the counter and you're completely flustered about it. But eventually, you go home, you think about him/her for a few days and that's it. It doesn't mean anything big, it just happened. And that's what I want to achieve with this story. Completely random and irrelevant stuff happening to our favorite pack members! :)

So yeah, the feedback up to now has been amazing. I wish I could respond to every one of you separately, but I have no idea how to do that, so I'll say it here. Thank you for reading and enjoying my story. :) Keep an eye out for perhaps a third chapter?


	3. Chapter 3

**{ Let me shelter you }**

**{ Chapter 3 }**

Isaac swore, Boyd and Erica both owed him at least ten blueberry muffins for all the trouble he has to go through to find them. His jeans were wet, his feet were hurting and the stench that hung around the factory made his head pound. Derek had decided to go out searching for them tonight, and they'd separated just to be over with it as quickly as possible. So while Isaac searched the level floor, Derek had taken the second one. Without any luck so far, because the plan was to text each other once they'd found something. Anything that could lead them to their fellow Beta's. They'd been searching for about two hours already, yet they both hadn't found a single clue.

'Pfft,' Isaac huffed. And at the exact same time, he heard something moving behind him. As quickly as he could, Isaac turned around and prepared himself for an attack. He heard another swiftly move behind him again, and turned in that direction now. _Playing games, are we?_

'Let's play hide and seek,' a teasing voice spoke, as if the person could read his mind, yet Isaac couldn't identify where it came from. The echo in the factory made the voice, which surely was that of a woman, ring through the entire room.

'Come find me, little pup,' she spoke again. And in that moment of distraction, he got hit in the back. Grabbing around in his pockets, she took his phone and threw it against the wall, smashing it into tiny pieces. Isaac tried taking hold of the woman, yet she seemed stronger and faster than him. Scratching his cheek with her nails, Isaac knew the situation was bad. Not sure if he'd be able to take her on his own, he let his fangs protrude out of his gums and thought it was all or nothing.

Trying to lash out at the woman, whom he still couldn't clearly see because of the darkness, he was able to give her a punch in the stomach. Growling in anger, she punched back at least twice as hard, made sure she gave him a few deep cuts on the side of his stomach in the process and then twisted his arm, laughing maniacally at the sound of cracking bone. Isaac screamed out; it hurt like hell. She took advantage of his moment of weakness and already having a hold of his now broken arm, she took his other arm and held them behind his back, making it impossible to move.

Pushing him forward, she kicked him into a tiny room, locked the door and barricaded it by pushing a huge object in front of it. Isaac was lying on the ground, but not minding the pain, he immediately scrambled up and tried to push the door open. A hopeless case, as it was a big iron door, closed from the outside and on top of that, held close with a heavy object the woman had found.

'No,' Isaac breathed, his heart accelerating with the seconds. The room was beyond tiny and reminded him just a little too much of the horrid freezer his father used to use as a means of punishment. He had to get out, or he'd lose it.

'No, no, no, no, no,' Isaac muttered repeatedly, punching and kicking the door so hard, he tore the flesh around his knuckles open.

'Fuck!' he yelled as loudly as he could, letting out his fury and fear.

{ -x- }

Derek sighed. Yet again a place he'll have to cross out without even having found so much as a hint. Finding Boyd and Erica seemed to be getting more and more hopeless with the days and momentarily, he thought they maybe should just give up. Maybe they did find a better pack and they were happy now and who was he to take that away from them? They'd _wanted _to leave, after all. Just as he was about to text Isaac that they'd done enough searching and better head home, he heard a painfully familiar scream, coming from the level floor. His heart made a jump, but he tried to remain calm while speeding down the stairs as fast as he could.

Just as he was trying to listen for where the screams were coming from, the screaming stopped. Instead, he heard some fumbling, a door closing and the sound of something heavy being pushed around. Making sure he memorized where the sounds came from, he began running.

{ -x- }

'No, no,' Isaac felt the tears prickling in the corners of his eyes, out of anger and helplessness. He couldn't stop punching the door, even if it couldn't be helped. The scratches on his stomach an cheek were still bleeding, and for a moment, he worried about why it hadn't started healing yet.

'Fuck!' he gave the door one last punch and slid down the wall and onto the floor, hiding his face in his arms.

'Stop,' he sobbed. 'Please make it stop.'

{ -x- }

Derek ran as fast as he could, because by now he's heard some serious cursing and pounding. Assuming what had happened to his Beta, he ran faster. The fact that the factory was huge, didn't really work in his advantage either. He finally heard silent sobbing becoming more clear and finding a big iron door with an old, heavy closet pushed in front of it, he now knew for sure someone had locked his Beta in there.

Anger filled Derek's mind and pushed by his fury, he smashed the closet out of the way, completely crushing it, and unlocked the door. For a moment, he saw Isaac completely hunched away against the wall, gripping his head between his hands.

'Make it stop, make it stop,' he was whispering, so lost he didn't even notice Derek standing right next to him. The sight was something Derek was sure would take ages to erase from his memories.

'Please let me out, I'll be good, I swear,' he continued sobbing.

'Isaac?' Derek almost didn't dare to interrupt this trance he was in, afraid Isaac would break. So fragile, he seemed. Yet he looked up immediately, revealing a face smeared with a few tears and at least twice as much blood. _One big mess. _

Getting up, Isaac threw himself into Derek's chest, letting out a tiny sigh of relief. He gripped Derek's shirt as if his life depended on it and wondered how it was possible that Derek's faint smell of cologne and cigarettes – he'd never bothered to tell Isaac he smoked occasionally, but Isaac knew – could feel so safe and familiar after having lived together for only a few days.

Derek merely froze under the close contact, but the desperate clutching of his shirt by Isaac made Derek get a lump in his throat. Silently, he brought up one arm and putting his hand on the back of Isaac's head, he pulled him closer to his chest. Derek had to admit that he too had been scared for the life of his Beta, if only for a moment. And the relief he'd felt when finding the younger one more or less unharmed, was something he hadn't felt since years.

Isaac cleared his throat, and by the sound of his heartbeat, Derek knew he'd almost completely calmed down. Letting go of Derek's shirt, he rubbed the blood off of his hands and onto his shirt, which was ripped to pieces.

'So, have you seen who did this to you?' Derek asked, trying to hide the hate and anger he felt for whoever made Isaac go through shit like that.

'I didn't. It was too dark and it all happened in a rush.' Isaac's voice trembled. He wished he could've remembered more. 'But it was a woman. And an Alpha; she was a lot stronger than me.'

Isaac pulled away his shredded shirt and took a look at the bleeding wound, which suddenly made him remember the pain he was still in. His broken arm still hadn't healed as well.

'Why am I not healing?' Isaac asked, his breath ragged.

'She probably used wolf's bane while attacking you. Can you walk?' Derek asked, already making his way out.

'Yeah, I'll get there. Just give me a moment.'

Derek looked back and watching Isaac slump forward, having difficulty with breathing because of his wounds, he suddenly felt for the boy. Going back, he grabbed Isaac's arm, pulled it over his neck for support and slowly but surely, they made their way to the car.

{ -x- }

By the time they reached the door of the loft, Isaac had completely slumped towards Derek, putting all his weight on the latter's shoulder. Fiddling with the keys, Derek was finally able to unlock the door. Almost dragging Isaac in, he closed the door and brought him over to the desk, lightning the little desk lamp.

'Can you sit on the desk?' Isaac jumped onto the table, albeit with a little difficulty, while Derek made his way to the kitchen. Filling a pot with water, he took a cloth and ordered Isaac to take of his shirt. As he returned to where Isaac was seated, he put the pot next to him and wetted his cloth. As quickly and swiftly as possible, he cleaned away most of the blood around the side of Isaac's stomach, so he could see the wound more clearly. Isaac winced.

'It's not that bad,' Derek reassured him. Isaac snorted in response, clearly not agreeing. 'But the wolf's bane refrains your body from healing. You know what that means, right?'

Isaac sighed, knowing Derek would have to break a few bones in order to trigger the healing process. Extending the arm that hadn't been broken yet, Derek took it in his hands and gave an apologizing look before breaking exactly three bones, knowing precisely which ones. Isaac screamed and leaned forward, resting his forehead on Derek's shoulder.

'You're enjoying this, aren't you?' Derek grinned, though Isaac couldn't see it since his face was still buried in Derek's shoulder.

'No, I'm not,' the humor in Derek's voice was apparent.

'Yes, you are,' Isaac exclaimed, somewhere between crying in pain and laughing at the same time. It made Derek snicker.

'Maybe a little,' Isaac snorted again in response.

'Look,' Derek pushed Isaac away to show him how the tissue around the deep scratches had started knitting itself together.

'It's over already,' Derek smiled contently, glad his Beta was almost completely patched up again. Taking the cloth, he wringed it out and rubbed away a little blood still left on Isaac's cheek, just with the tip of the cloth.

Isaac laughed, jerking his head away slightly. He couldn't help but find the sight amusing. It reminded him of those typical movies he's seen, in which the boys go out on their first date and the moms put their thumb in their mouth and rub away anything that disturbs them on their son's cheek. Trying again, Derek rubbed the last blood away.

'Why'd she do it, you think?' Isaac asked after a moment.

'Lock you up?' Isaac nodded.

'Who knows. Maybe just to scare you. Give a warning?' Derek guessed. It made Isaac think.

'Well, I think she was following us from the beginning. The first thing she did was break my phone, so I couldn't contact you. She didn't want you to find me, Derek.' He listened intently.

'You think she's part of the Alpha pack?' Derek shrugged.

'Most likely.'

'But, imagine, Derek. If Erica and Boyd are taken by the Alpha pack and she already did that to me just to scare me…'

'Or give a warning,' Derek continued. Isaac nodded in agreement.

'Exactly! But can you imagine what they're doing to Erica and Boyd? Every single day? Right now?' Derek sighed, not wanting to think of the endless ways there are to torture a person. He refused to believe they were taken by the Alpha pack, until he was proven otherwise.

'We'll just keep looking,' Derek avoided his question, getting up and leaving to throw the dirty water away.

'You should go shower,' he didn't finish his sentence yet, as he heard the bathroom door close already. Isaac had probably wanted some time to himself from the moment they'd returned to the loft.

Sighing, Derek put the dishes away and returned to his desk, taking out his map and marking yet another cross right next to all the others.

He'll find them. There is no other option.

* * *

**A/N: **This one's for **zerogravityganja****, **and for the sake of her eyelids. I wrote it as fast as I could. Thank you for enjoying this story so much 3

Sorry the chapter is shorter, but I felt like I included everything and I didn't want to overfill the chapter with unnecessary information. So I hope I don't disappoint you with this one. :) I personally find it quite endearing.

The reactions towards Emma, my OC from the previous chapter, have been quite positive as well, so make sure to watch out for a reappearance, though I'm not sure yet in what way.

And I know, Isaac getting locked up and having a panic attack already happened in an episode of season 3. But I really wanted to write this scene with Derek. It all started out with how I wanted them to hug, but that wouldn't happen under any circumstances, unless they're both drunk. It would just be out of character. But in this situation, I still found it quite in character and I hope you guys think so too. :) I still tried to make it a little awkward, with Derek freezing over and then gently pulling him closer anyway. I don't know, I thought it fitted. :)

Anyway, thank you all for the kind reviews 3 I really appreciate every single follow, fave and review. :)


	4. Chapter 4

**{ Let me shelter you }**

**{ Chapter 4 }**

Derek clicking his pen started driving Isaac crazy.

Clicking the pen.

Putting it back down.

Folding the map closed.

Sighing. Desperate sighing. With the occasional rubbing of the temples, as Isaac noticed through the corner of his eye.

Folding the map open again.

Picking up the pen.

Clicking it again.

The repeating process had been going on for more than ten minutes and it pushed Isaac's nerves. Finally having finished with putting the dishes away, it was Isaac's turn to sigh as he turned around.

'Did that pen say something, Derek?' Isaac asked. Derek looked up, a startled yet confused look on his face.

'What?'

'Did it hurt your feelings?' Isaac moved away from the open kitchen and came closer to the desk, motioning with his hands as he continued speaking. 'Say something wrong? Because you've been massacring the tip of that pen for the past ten minutes and it's, to say the least, very annoying.'

Derek merely sighed in response as he looked back at his map. 'I don't have time for this, Isaac. I'm thinking.'

Isaac came up to the desk, standing opposite of where Derek was sitting, putting both hands on the surface. Not getting Derek's attention, as he'd hoped, he took the map and pulled it away from Derek.

'Hey, hey –' But Derek's protests were in vain. Isaac had already folded the map.

'We've done enough thinking for today. No – better yet, we've done enough thinking for the past week. And you, you need some fresh air,' Isaac continued talking as he made his way to the front of the desk and put the map in its regular drawer. 'So we're going out.'

Derek gave a confusing look, his eyebrows raising questioningly.

'Do I look like I go out?'

'Don't be ridiculous. All people go out,' Isaac mocked, making his way to stand in front of Derek again. He was met with a disinterested face. Isaac crossed his arms, showing he wasn't going to let this one go so easily. 'Come on, Derek! I swear, just one drink. It'll clear your head.'

'I'm sorry, Isaac, but I don't really feel like going out tonight.'

Isaac gave him an understanding look. When it came to Derek, not a single night would be right to go out. He knew Derek felt guilty every single minute he didn't spend on looking for Erica and Boyd. He understood that, better than anyone else; Boyd and Erica were just as much his pack as they were Isaac's. And he wanted to find them just as much as Derek wanted to. All of that, however, didn't imply they weren't allowed some fun anymore in the meantime.

A sly grin crept on Isaac's face. 'I'll pay the first drink.'

A little smile couldn't help but fight its way in on Derek's face as he looked at Isaac, amused with the younger one's perseverance.

'Come on,' Isaac motioned with his head to the door, indicating they should go. Derek reluctantly – or rather, pretending that he was reluctant, but Isaac knew better – got up and made his way to the door. Isaac grinned at his victory.

'Fine, but only because you're paying,' Derek said, taking his keys as he reached for the door. Isaac hopped, following right behind. He had great difficulty hiding his excitement.

'Hey, I said I'll pay the first one.'

Derek laughed while opening the door. 'What was that? I don't think I heard you.'

'Derek!'

The hall filled with laughter when Isaac playfully gave Derek a nudge as both made their way downstairs.

{ -x- }

'Are you kidding me?' Derek asked as he drove up to the parking lot of Beacon Hills' local pub.

'Why, what's wrong?' Isaac asked, genuinely curious as to why he should be kidding.

Derek pointedly looked at the entrance of the little café, which was crowded with young girls, each taking turns while smoking a single cigarette they'd probably taken from their parents. Isaac frowned.

'I swear, those girls are an exception. I've been here before, it'll be better inside.' Isaac tried to convince Derek.

Sighing, Derek got out of the car anyway and made his way to the entrance, with Isaac following right behind. The group of girls they'd been talking about were gathered smack in front of the door, requiring Derek to push his way into their little circle so he could get to the entrance. Isaac stayed as close as possible, not wanting to go through the circle on his own and embarrass himself. Noticing Derek, the girls immediately stopped talking and started staring at him, not even bothering to hide the lustful eyes they were giving him. Derek, however, ignored them and pushed the door open. The moment the door closed behind Isaac, a fit of giggling erupted from the other side. Isaac had to muffle a laugh; Derek's reaction was priceless.

After an obvious roll of the eyes, Derek took in his surroundings. And he had to admit, the place looked much better than he initially expected. The music was playing, yet not too loud so it was still agreeable to talk. A few tables were scattered around the place, candles stacked in old wine bottles providing just enough light. In front of the DJ, there was some space to dance. At the moment it was still vacant, but it was still early after all. And then Derek noticed the bar. All sorts of drinks were messily arranged on a large shelf that reached the ceiling. _Now we're getting there, _Derek thought.

'It seems you were right. This place is nice,' Derek admitted, looking at Isaac.

'Pfft, of course I was right,' Isaac boasted, going over to the bar and taking place on one of the dozen vintage leather bar stools. Derek did the same, taking his seat next to Isaac.

'So, what can I please you with?' Isaac gave a goofy grin, clearly in the mood for a fun night.

'You can buy me a whiskey,' Derek replied.

Isaac took out his wallet and yelled the bartender's name, which appeared to be 'Oscar. Derek was slightly surprised and wondered how he knew him. The bartender was wearing a gray, short-sleeve Henley, showing a tattoo that completely covered his wrist. He smiled when he noticed Isaac, immediately excusing himself with a customer he was talking to. As he came up to them, he greeted Isaac heartily while patting his shoulder.

'Lahey, it's been a while. Please tell me you have some news on Erica and Boyd?' Derek's ears perked up at the Scottish accent Oscar clearly attempted to suppress. He wondered how the hell he knew Erica and Boyd as well, but then remembered he never had all that much contact with his Beta's before two of them had disappeared. Who knows, they might've been spending most of their time at this little pub for all he knew. It still gave him a bad feeling that he knew about their disappearance. Isaac hadn't told him about werewolves, now had he?

Isaac merely shook his head disappointedly while the bartender sighed sadly and ruffled Isaac's curls, finally smiling comfortingly. 'Well, don't worry, buddy. The police'll find them; that's their job. So, what can I get you and your mate?'

'Well, the usual for me and a whiskey for this guy over here,' Isaac pointed his head at Derek. The bartender nodded and went to prepare the drinks.

'How the hell does he know about Boyd and Erica?' Derek urged the moment Oscar was out of ear's reach. He hoped the anger didn't seep through his voice, not wanting to get angry with Isaac before hearing the whole story. And he trusted Isaac not to have told anyone about werewolves. He wasn't stupid. Still, his distrust issues probably ran just as deep as Isaac's.

'Don't worry, Derek.' Isaac was convinced he had done nothing wrong.

'He knows just as much as the police and as Boyd and Erica's parents. Which is that they've been missing for three weeks. That's it.'

Derek immediately calmed down.

'You didn't think I'd told him about…' Isaac pointed his hand between Derek and himself, indicating he meant them being supernatural. Derek raised his eyebrows and shrugged, giving the impression that he hadn't been sure.

'Derek, I'm not stupid!' Isaac shook his head incredulously.

'Look, I used to come here with Erica and Boyd; we hung out with Oscar, the guy I just talked to. We became friends. Good friends. So you can only imagine his face when I came in on my own, for the first time. I couldn't avoid answering his questions. They were his friends,' Isaac innocently shrugged his shoulders. Derek hummed in understanding

'Anyway, we didn't come here to talk about Boyd and Erica,' Isaac grimaced, missing them. They used to come here so often.

Two glasses and a bottle of sprite were placed in front of them. Isaac looked up and smiled, taking out some money. The bartender however pushed his hand away.

'Don't worry about it, buddy. This one's on the house,' he smiled. Isaac seemed like he wanted to protest, but was interrupted immediately.

'How about you'll just buy me the next drink, when my shift's over?'

Isaac sighed in defeat. 'Sure, I'll keep you on that one.'

Nodding, he went over to some other customers to attend to. Isaac took his sprite and mixed it with the vodka that was already in the glass. Derek was staring at him, slightly amused.

'What?' Isaac asked, not taking his eyes off of his drink, scared he'd otherwise spill it. When the glass was finally full, he looked at Derek. His left eyebrow was raised questioningly, an amused grin on his face.

'I'm just going to ignore the fact that that,' he said while pointing his head towards Isaac's glass, 'is not pure sprite.'

Isaac frowned, looked at his glass and bit his lip. The sight amused Derek. He knew he shouldn't approve of the younger one drinking alcohol at his age or that he could even get these drinks at this pub without any repercussions. But at the same time, their age difference wasn't all that big and Derek remembered all too well how he'd been himself. Besides that, he didn't feel like taking over the responsible role tonight. At least he didn't go about and lied about the fact that he drank alcohol. Isaac looked up again.

'At least it's not pure vodka?' he tried, smiling apologetically. Derek scoffed, rolling his eyes and taking his drink.

'Wait,' Isaac smiled, lifting his glass towards derek's.

'I have something to celebrate.'

'Oh?' Derek was surprised.

Isaac's grin widened, seeming very excited.

'I found a job.'

Derek couldn't help the smile that fought his way onto his face. He was genuinely happy and even felt a little proud. He wondered how it was possible that only after a week of living together, he already started feeling so – what was the right word – paternal? Was he feeling paternal towards Isaac? He wasn't sure and it scared him a little; but he decided to push the thoughts away. Isaac seemed to begin worrying as Derek still hadn't said a thing.

'Well, congratulations Isaac. On your new job,' Derek quickly regained himself, clinking his glass to that of Isaac and then they both took a swig.

'So, where are you going to work?'

'It's a little café, not far from Beacon Hills Park. They sell ice cream, milkshakes, coffee and a variety of desserts.'

Derek noticed Isaac was wringing his hands. He wondered why he would be nervous talking about his job to Derek. Maybe he was scared to disappoint? It's not like he ever got positive feedback from his father.

'I work from 4 to 8, except on Monday. And it pays well.'

Derek nodded approvingly. 'I'm proud of you.'

The words were uttered before he knew what he was doing. He would've never said something like that to anyone before. But then he saw Isaac smiling uncertainly, asking, 'Yeah?' And Derek couldn't help returning the smile. 'Yeah,' he whispered.

They sipped their drinks again, both feeling happy and a little uncertain at the same time. This whole guardian stuff still felt very strange, and it wasn't like they actually addressed the issue all that often. So they were left with many unresolved questions, but they were working on it. Not even the Eiffel tower was built in one week after all.

'I start tomorrow, by the way,' Isaac told after a moment of silence.

'Well, I'll drive you,' Derek suggested. It was the least he could do. Beacon Hill's Park wasn't so close by the door anyway.

'No, it's okay, I'll take the bus.' Derek had never before suggested to drive him, or Erica and Boyd, to school unless he had to be there himself for some reason. He didn't want to bother him by having to drive half through the city to get Isaac to his work. He would manage, as he always has done.

'You hurt my feelings, Isaac,' Derek decided to pick the easy way out instead of having another heartfelt conversation about how Isaac shouldn't feel like he was a bother to Derek. 'Are you ashamed of me driving you to your work?'

Isaac scoffed, throwing his head back and laughing. 'I swear, sometimes I wonder if you're for real, Derek. You're an ass,' he grinned.

Derek was happy to see all the uncertainty was replaced with some confidence and even that slight, amical arrogance that would've been so typically Isaac had he not been so misused in the past.

'Shut up and drink up before I change my mind,' Derek held out his glass to give another toast.

'Seriously, you're an ass, I hope you know that,' Isaac replied comically, holding out his glass and clinking with that of Derek.

'You're no better yourself,' he said and winked as they both downed their drinks ad fundum.

{ -x- }

A few light-hearted conversations and at least twice as much drinks later, they both had loosened up immensely in comparison with earlier that night.

'No, but Derek, I swear. Scott is, like, the epitome of a douche,' Isaac snorted while motioning with his hands, as if he could capture Scott's implied douchery between them. The amount of glasses were piling up before them and he realized he'd started losing count already an hour ago.

The bar was crowded now. The young girls from earlier who had barricaded the door, had been sitting in a booth in the corner of the pub. Not for a single moment had they taken their eyes off of Derek, yet no one dared to come and talk to him. His occasional glare directed at the group probably hindered them to do so. Much to his pleasure, they had left at around 12 am, probably not even allowed to stay out much longer. That had been an hour and a half earlier from now.

The dance floor was now more crowded as well and the music had been turned up a notch since a while. If Isaac had been here with Erica and Boyd, he probably would've been there dancing the night away. But – even drunk – he knew he couldn't ask that of Derek; even if he seemed to feel the alcohol now as well.

Derek hid his sniggering face behind his hand, clearly amused with Isaac's expressive motions.

'Cut the boy some slack, please. He's not a bad kid!' he tried to stay serious, but it seemed to have become more difficult to do so with every drink.

'Nah, I don't know. I don't trust him.' Isaac scrunched his nose at the thought of the werewolf that ran with humans. Derek snorted at his younger Beta's naivety.

'You don't know him, that's what I say.' Derek took another sip of his glass, realizing it was empty as he put it to his lips. 'Damn, empty again? I swear, there are leaks in these glasses.'

He studied the glass.

Isaac ignored his last statement, instead continued dissing Scott. 'No, but seriously, he doesn't – '

But Isaac's babbling was interrupted by an arm that was swung around his shoulder. With a little difficulty, he looked to his right and saw Oscar had swung one arm around Isaac's shoulders and the other around Derek's while he squeezed himself between the two, clearly having had a few drinks himself as he was grinning at both of them. Derek looked like he would rip his arms off any moment now, which he probably would've done, had he not been in such a good mood. Oscar didn't notice Derek's glare and didn't bother to remove his arm either.

'Mate, you owe me a drink, I believe,' he laughed at Isaac, his Scottish accent more clear now, probably not even bothering anymore at hiding it. He finally released their shoulders and instead grabbed a bar stool from nearby and placed it between Derek and Isaac, taking a seat.

'I'll have a whiskey-cola, please.' Isaac seemed delighted Oscar had joined them, while Derek was anything but. But he decided not to ruin the mood, as he genuinely had enjoyed himself up to now. And who knows, this 'bartender' might be an okay guy after all.

'Derek, another whiskey?' Isaac asked.

Derek thought of the throbbing head he'd be feeling tomorrow morning if he drank another whiskey. On top of that, he still had to get his Beta home safely, which would be impossible now anyway. If the police caught him driving his 'adopted son' – _God, that's weird. _Derek concluded and decided to pretend he didn't just think that. It creeped him out. – his Beta in this condition, who knows what would happen with his custody. _Better to just walk home then_, he thought.

'No, I think I've had enough.' Derek frowned, looking guiltily at the stack of glasses in front of them. God, he felt awful; he hasn't been using his brain very much this evening.

Oscar however didn't agree to that plan.

'Aw, come on, mate. The night's just beginning,' he nudged his shoulder and as if on cue, Derek's good mood set in again. He grinned lazily.

'All right, but this is the last one.'

'Whatever you say, mate. Whatever you say,' Oscar concluded as he held up his hand towards the three other bartenders that had now taken over his shift. A blonde girl that had been swiftly cleaning glasses came up to them.

'What shall it be, boys?' She asked happily, clearly enjoying the work she was doing, no matter how crowded it was. There hung an exciting atmosphere in the air and she loved it.

'Ah, Ellie Bellie,' Oscar grinned, clearly familiar with the blonde. 'It shall be one vodka-sprite, one whiskey-cola and one whiskey pure, love.' She rolled her eyes at the nicknames he'd given her, clearly aware of his tipsy state.

'You're drunk,' she laughed.

'Anyway, who are your friends?' she asked as she filled the glasses in front of them. The glance she threw at Derek didn't go unnoticed as Derek gave her a cheeky smile in return.

'Well, you already know Isaac over here,' he said while pointing his head at the younger one beside him. 'So I'm gonna assume you're interested in this pretty lad over here,' he continued while he threw an arm around Derek again and patted his chest. Oscar obviously was not aware of the many boundaries he'd already crossed tonight concerning Derek. He was lucky he was a little occupied with the pretty blonde inquiring about him.

'Actually, I don't know his name. Isaac, what is his name?' he said while his arm stayed put loosely around Derek.

'Elle, this is Derek. Derek, Elle,' Isaac introduced them to each other as he paid the money to her.

'Thanks, Elle,' he said when she put the drinks in front of them. She smiled appreciatively at Isaac; she remembered him as always the polite one.

'Nice to meet you, Derek,' she gave another glance at the man next to Oscar.

'Likewise,' he nodded in return, smiling again as she made her way back to the sink.

Oscar still had his arm loosely around Derek's neck, gaping at the luscious look she had just given Derek.

'Blimey, you could get that, mate,' he stated simply. Isaac almost choked on his drink, trying not to laugh. He couldn't believe how Derek hadn't punched him in the face yet. His patience had been seriously tested up to now.

A simple glare however was enough for Oscar to remove his arm and put them up before him in defense.

'I'll back off, mate,' he grinned, not very capable of staying serious.

'Anyway, Lahey, I've noticed that pretty little redhead over there has been staring my ass off all night. So if you'll excuse me,' he said while hopping off of the barstool.

'Thanks again for the drink,' he said as he grabbed Isaac's head and ran his hands through his hair playfully. Isaac pushed him away, refraining him from messing up his hair any more than he already had.

'Okay, okay, I get it,' He laughed wholeheartedly. 'Go get that girl, or whatever,' he said as he gave another push in the right direction. Holding his bottle of cola in his one hand and his whiskey in the other, Oscar made his way over to the girl. Isaac and Derek watched him go off and then turned back to their drinks.

'Is that guy for real?' Derek asked incredulously. He didn't mind him as much as he did at first, even if he was a little too easy-going to Derek's liking. But he recognized his younger self in him, before he got overthrown with crap. Oscar was definitely no longer on his bad book.

'What do you think?' Isaac took another swig. 'He's a bartender,' he shrugged as if it was all so evident. Derek shook his head unbelievably.

'This is the last round, by the way.'

'We'll see,' Isaac grinned, his glass ready at his mouth for another swig.

'We'll see how much you'll laugh at your first day at work. You do know you have to work tomorrow, do you?'

'Aww, shit, I do, don't I?' he scrunched his nose, shaking his head. 'No…'

Derek merely nodded in reply, biting his lip as if he felt his pain.

'Now finish your drink. We're walking home,' Derek said as he took one last gulp and moved away from his bar stool. Isaac groaned, not as eager anymore to stay and have another drink. Luckily, he only had to start at 4 pm.

As he finished his drink as well, he quickly followed Derek, noticing his head was swirling at the sudden change of movement.

'But Derek, hold up,' he slurred. God, standing up had not been good. It was as if the amount of alcohol had multiplied by ten and he was feeling twice as drunk as before. He bumped into Derek, noticing he didn't seem to have as much trouble with walking as he did.

'Is it far?' he whined.

'It was only five minutes driving, so I'm sure we'll be back home in fifteen minutes,' Derek reassured his Beta. He really hoped the younger one wouldn't have a hangover tomorrow.

'Come one, the fresh air will stop the throbbing you're probably feeling.'

Isaac groaned, but followed anyway. All he needed right now was his bed.

'I need my bed,' he mumbled. _And Erica,_ he thought, though refrained from saying that out loud. She always knew what to do to prevent a hangover, yet he couldn't remember any of her advice right now. He'll just have to get through it on his own tonight.

* * *

_A/N: _Oh my freaking god, it has been ages since I updated. I know and I feel guilty. But I've had a pretty rough summer, so Fanfiction was momentarily on the back of my mind. Plus, I've read some amazing Teen Wolf Fanfiction in general, and I always feel my writing is so little compared to some other amazing fics out there. So I had a little insecurity-issues about my writing. But your lovely reviews kept coming, and I suddenly got inspired to do it anyway. Other than that, I always feel I'm repeating myself as well? Like, Most of my chapters have been angsty up to now, and with this chapter I wanted something more light-hearted. Still, the angst can be felt and I don't know how to prevent that. If it bothers you, please say so and tell me how I can do it differently. Also, not a lot happens in this chapter.. And I don't know if that's bad or still enjoyable to read..? Let me know! ;)

And another OC; Oscar. Please don't hate on him..? :p He's based off of a real life friend of mine and I thought he fitted right in! :) Brought a little comical touch to the story.

I hope Derek's not ooc. :s The flirting; I think definitely not. Have you seen how he flirted with that police girl back in, I believe, season 1? The boy has some amazing hidden skills when it comes to girls, I'm sure of it! :p And we haven't seen a drunk Derek yet, so that had to be improvised. Oh, and I imagined Elle as Claire Holt. I always liked crossovers with Rebekah from TVD and Derek from Teen wolf, so that's that. :)

And yeah, so many irresponsibilities! I know Derek threw his 'guardian' position out of the window for a moment there, but idk, he's physically in his mid-twenties and he doesn't strike me as the type of guy that would get all responsible; telling Isaac he can't drink. Idk, I'm sorry if it bothers you. I just was a little conflicted as well on this issue.

And don't worry; Derek will make sure Isaac gets right on time on his first day at work, without any headache! ;) But I don't think I'll write that part, as it follows right up to this and I just have so many other ideas.

I hope you enjoyed this (extra-long btw!) chapter! :)


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